University Golf Match

The University Golf Match (commonly known as the Varsity Match) is the annual golf match contested between the Full Blue golf teams from Oxford and Cambridge universities. Dating back to 1878, it is the oldest amateur event in golf, as the first Amateur Championship was played in 1885. It is also the oldest team event in English golf. Scottish team matches were common after 1849, and included St Andrews University matches against Fife artisan clubs. The Varsity Match was most recently contested in March 2017, at Ganton Golf Club, and was won by Oxford by a margin of 10.5-4.5, making it a record breaking 8 in a row, for the men and a Cambridge victory for the ladies.

The first University Golf Match was played on March 6, 1878, at Wimbledon Common, courtesy of London Scottish Golf Club, which hosted the fixture for 19 years until it moved to Royal St George's Golf Club in 1897. The match was contested by four singles matches, and used the holes up method of scoring. Oxford, led by Horace Hutchinson, won by a margin of 24 holes. Up to and including 2013, 124 University Golf Matches have been played.

In 1898 the Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society (OCGS) was founded; members qualify by virtue of their participation in the University Golf Match. Since 1920, the OCGS has hosted the President's Putter, an annual match-play competition for its members held at Rye Golf Club, in Rye, East Sussex.

Until the 1890s there were very few golf courses in England, and none of appropriate quality in the Oxford and Cambridge areas. The University Match was initially played on Wimbledon Common, which, along with Royal Blackheath, was one of just a handful of courses in the London area at the time.

Since then, the University Golf Match has been played at courses all over the United Kingdom, including Royal St George's, Royal Cinque Ports, Royal Liverpool, Muirfield, Ganton, Walton Heath, Hunstanton, Aldeburgh, Royal Porthcawl, and Sunningdale.

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